Lionel Gerada entertains Labour supporters after authorities shield abuses from scrutiny

Lionel Gerada, a person of trust previously employed by disgraced former tourism minister Konrad Mizzi, returned to his roots as a mass rally DJ for the Labour Party on Friday, notwithstanding his well-documented record of abuses committed as a public official.

Gerada previously worked as the Malta Tourism Authority’s (MTA) Head of Events. His tenure at the MTA had attracted close scrutiny due to the millions of euro in taxpayer money awarded to his associates, the Maltese owners behind 356 Entertainment Group.

The event organisers behind the group, which The Shift had previously reported on due to its owners’ known ties with Gerada, recently benefited from yet another generous government concession: a 50-year extension to their lease for the public land on which UNO Club was built in Ta’ Qali, despite the long list of planning illegalities they committed on the site.

Gerada’s private connections in the entertainment sector and his criminal track record stretching back two decades had not stopped Mizzi from appointing him to a post in which he was in charge of distributing millions of euro in sponsorship deals tied to mass events.

Gerada was found guilty on four separate occasions by the courts, with charges including embezzlement, using a false identity, falsifying official documents, driving without a licence and insurance while using a vehicle with false number plates, and failing to pay for dues related to the purchase of a motorcycle and the services of an architect.

On the contrary, Gerada’s criminal history was concealed from view after he successfully petitioned the courts to have his records removed from the public domain.

After he was forced to step down from the post two years ago, Gerada continues to benefit from his close association with the Labour Party, including through his role as a DJ who has played at dozens of public rallies organised by the PL.

During Gerada’s time at the MTA, between 2020 and 2024, at least €2 million was spent on events linked to 356 Entertainment Group. Gerada regularly and enthusiastically promotes the group’s events on his social media.

The suspect payments had raised sufficient concerns to merit an investigation by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which had summoned Gerada to Parliament to testify on why so many sponsorships were dished out to his associates via direct orders, using a hidden system that attempted to obscure the link.

Former PAC Chair and Opposition MP Beppe Fenech Adami had gone on the record describing Gerada’s conduct as “what appears to be, at prima facie, abusive, corrupt behaviour in breach of the law”, and had called for a police investigation into the matter.

The police never confirmed that investigations were held.

While Gerada was quietly removed from his position at the MTA a couple of years after former tourism minister Clayton Bartolo had taken over the portfolio, 356 Entertainment Group continued to benefit from millions of euro in direct orders.

In March, The Shift reported on a separate case in which another popular DJ who regularly plays at the Labour Party’s mass rallies was treated with a velvet glove by the authorities.

DJ Ryan Spiteri was granted bail after allegedly threatening to kill his ex-partner in front of her two children, a court decision which legal experts had flagged as “unduly lenient”.